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Craft Beer Club Looks to Rise Above Typical College Drinking Styles

For those of us still in college looking for alternative extracurricular activities outside of the tried and true Ultimate Frisbee, how about craft beer? In what is sure to be the new trend to also make faculty cringe, Philadelphia area colleges are experimenting with clubs that cater to craft beer culture.

In an interview on the Philly.com website, presiding president of Temple’s Craft Beer Enthusiasts Club Alyssa Montgomery gives the details on her love of finer beer beverages and how she is overseeing the small group of individuals. While the club does have a faculty adviser and has been meeting for two years now, they are still pending consent from Temple to become an official club. To do that, there will need to be lots of convincing.

For starters, the words beer and college used in the same sentence almost always has a negative connotation to it. Temple itself already has been in the news recently for an accidental death where an underage student fell from a rooftop. While taking place during Temple’s “Spring Fling” gathering, both the student and the party were not affiliated with Temple University. Also to consider, most students entering college directly after high school won’t achieve official drinking age until their junior or senior year. But Alyssa, who herself is a fifth-year senior, and others in the club don’t seem to be too concerned with the challenges. They are also on the cusp on an emerging trend, A little further south on Broad Street, the University of Pennsylvania’s law school has their own beer club.

Thoughts on alcohol focused clubs as an addendum to educational institutions? Or was your college experience essentially an alcohol focused club?